Page 50 of Rebel Fae
I went back to the table and prepared each of us a plate heaped with meat, roasted potatoes, fruit, nuts, and cake decorated with heavy chocolate icing. We sat together, eating slowly, our eyes fixed on the lake. The late afternoon sun shimmered on its surface while the waterfall roared in the distance.
The beast is fae,Regina’s words played in my mind over and over. I couldn’t stop thinking about them.
I turned to the Khurynian. “Bael?”
“Hmm.”
“The beast… do you think there is any possibility it is one of our kind?”
Bael grunted in disapproval. “What would give you that idea?”
“It was Regina. She said that the beast and I taste the same.”
He grunted again, considering for a long moment. At last, he said, “Before, I would have never believed that such a thing was possible. Now—here in this strange realm, and this godsforsaken island—I believe anything, even my worst nightmare.”
A strange emotion filled my chest, some awful foreboding I tried to dismiss. Still, it took root deep in my heart, refusing to be ignored.
“You’d believe anything as well, wouldn’t you?” Bael said, searching my face.
“If anyone knows about blood, it’s vampires, right? So maybe Regina is right.”
He nodded, thoughtfully. “Yes, it is reasonable to think so.”
I hatedreasonablesometimes, but I hated unreasonable more, and that was just how I felt at the moment—or maybe a better word was insane.
With my determinationandinsanity growing, I started stuffing food into my mouth as quickly as I could, washing it down with gulps of water. Bael observed me closely, chewing his food weakly and with little interest.
“You’re going back,” he said after a moment. It wasn’t a question. He knew I had no other choice but to go back and check, make sure the one we had been calling “the beast” was one of our own.
After I finished my food, I rested for as long as I dared. I probably had three hours before it turned dark. I felt a little better getting some nourishment in me, but I wasn’t in the best shape. Still, I had to prove or disprove Regina’s claim. I wouldn’t be at ease until I did.
As I stood, I found that I was steadier on my feet than I’d expected. It was a relief. I fluttered my wings to test them out. They whirred without trouble or pain. I turned to the others and found them reclined contentedly on the ground. Becca and Ronnie were blinking lazily at the tree canopy. They were exhausted from swimming, and now, with a full belly, they seemed unable to keep their eyes open. It had been a while since any of us had a proper rest.
Regina and Antonio were sitting at a safe distance from Bael and the humans—not that I needed to worry about it. They seemed content themselves, fat as ticks from all the blood they’d drank. I wrinkled my nose involuntarily, then chided myself for not being more understanding. Just because they were different from me and had different needs, it didn’t mean they were bad. The Habermanns had brought them here, same as us, and were treating them unfairly, leaving them at the mercy of their hunger without proper supplies. All things considered, it was a miracle they had killed none of us yet.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” I told Bael. I felt fairly certain everyone would be all right in my absence. The vampires were full, and the beast trapped. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to be swift.
“Be careful. Whether or not that creature is fae, it is dangerous.”
I nodded and took to the air. My limbs felt heavier than normal, and my wings had to work harder to keep me flying a safe distance above the lake’s surface. Despite being tired, I only had to worry about myself, though, and it took me half the time to get back to the opposite shore.
Once there, I flew at a safe distance from the ground, my eyes darting in every direction, expecting tendrils to come out and try to snatch me. But I saw nothing except birds and lizards and heard nothing except their respective songs and scampering.
Up ahead, the beast was exactly where I had left it, still tangled and still.
I approached carefully, the sound of my wings too loud for comfort. Still, as I hovered above its tangled tendrils, the beast gave no sign that it sensed me. It seemed it might have exhausted itself trying to get free and had only made the mess worse.
I flew around, peering at the cluster from every angle, trying to see past the many tendrils and matted body, but all I saw was a cloud of natty hair. I wanted to get closer, to push away at the mess to see what was under it, but I was afraid the stillness was a ruse to lure me closer, and the beast was lying in wait like a spider hoping to trap a juicy bug in its web. Well, I wouldn’t fall for it.
“Hey, beast!” I called out.
Nothing.
“BEAST!” I called even louder.
Still nothing. Not even a twitch.
I broke a spear-like branch from a tree and poked at one of the knotty tendrils. The beast gave no sign that it felt anything at all.
